Huge crash ignites tempers and shakes up standings at Bristol

BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 24: Crew members of the #29 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, driven by Kevin Harvick, push their car in the garage area after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 53rd Annual IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, 2013 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN - AUGUST 24:  Crew members of the #29 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, driven by Kevin Harvick, push their car in the garage area after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 53rd Annual IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, 2013 in Bristol, Tennessee.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN – AUGUST 24: Crew members of the #29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, driven by Kevin Harvick, push their car in the garage area after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 53rd Annual IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, 2013 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

It’s never a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ a crash will happen at Bristol Motor Speedway. In Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Irwin Tools Night Race it didn’t happen until the closing laps.

On lap 446 pole sitter Denny Hamlin was racing to get inside the top ten when he made contact with Brian Vickers. That contact punctured the right front tire on Hamlin’s Toyota and seconds later he flew into the outside wall entering turn one.  Hamlin hit the back of Ryan Newman’s Chevy and set off a melee that collected a total of seven cars and caused a nearly five minute red flag.

“I’m just in the car and a steering wheel holder at that point,” Hamlin said.  “It caused a huge accident.  It sucks, but I didn’t cause it.  I was one of the guys who got cut off.” MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.